It was a busy weekend of action on all sorts of fronts due to the U 14 & ‘A’ team matches on Saturday, our annual 10K AAI road run followed by our Dawn Mass this morning at 6am. We’ll start with the U14 game yesterday against table toppers Ramblers in Leitrim which ended in victory for Ramblers on a score line of 4-2 although far from a facile one. Ramblers were made work for their win, particularly in the 2nd half as Colemanstown were 3-0 down at half time and yet came back to 3-2 down and eventually lost 4-2 in the end. The first few mins saw Darragh Diskin with a good shot but was narrowly wide. 6mins in, Ramblers scored in a well taken effort and applied some heavy pressure on Colemanstown’s defence for the remainder of the half with an effort rebounding off the post and another inches over the crossbar. On 20mins Ramblers were rewarded for their superiority and went 2-0 up. Darragh Diskin’s great run down the right flank found Conor Moran whose effort was just wide of the mark. Then Ramblers turned the screw as they scored their 3rd to go 3-0 up at the break.
Now needing at least 3 goals to avoid the table toppers from claiming all 3 points, the management team of Edo, Jayo & David knew they had to revitalise things. The halftime roasting did the job as Colemanstown restarted the 2nd half a changed team as Darragh Diskin & Ryan Noone did great work on the wings. Colemanstown’s 1st goal came as Sean Hansberry & Conor Moran combined to link up with Ryan Noone who left the keeper with no chance early in the 2nd half. 2mins later Ryan Noone’s through ball found Hansberry, who still had alot of work to do to finish a classic. Ramblers then had a one-on-one with the keeper but Jason Connolly stood his ground well with a smashing save. Ramblers put the pressure on for the last 10mins and nudged the final nail into place in Colemanstown’s coffin when they scored from close range to put the issue beyond doubt. Ryan Noone was just wide of the target again before the ref blew for full time after good link up play from Conor Byron & Conor Moran. It was an energetic & enthusiastic 2nd half performance which was no doubt, buoyed up by the manager’s team talk at half time. With just 5 more games to play, the U14’s currently sit mid-table with Ramblers in pole position by a long distance. Thanks to Sean Moran for the match notes.
Squad: Jason Connolly, Liam Gormally, Luke Lally, Dara Hansberry, Conor Byron, Ryan Noone, Conor Moran, Sean Hansberry, Mark Donnellan, Michael Flattery, Darragh Diskin, Michael Kelly, Micháel Ryan, Liam Molloy.
‘A’ Team against Merlin Woods/ Medtronic
The clubhouse clean-up was just about complete after our annual 10k run before Colemanstown welcomed visitors and table toppers Merlin Woods to a cold, yet sunny Colemanstown stadium late yesterday afternoon. Dejection cut a bit deeper into Colemanstown’s souls yesterday as they went from 1-0 up with 15mins to go to lose 3-1 to a spirited visiting side yesterday. Sean Walsh and Alo Finn had the earliest Colemanstown chances. Colemanstown eked out the first goal of the game on 32mins as Ray Moran worked hard to win a corner which was taken by Richie Lally and following a goalmouth scramble Ronnie Geraghty poked the ball over the line for his first of the season to relieve the pressure a certain degree. 5mins later, a long ball from keeper John Gormally was well controlled by Ray Moran who cut in around the box and crossed to Alo Finn but his low hard drill was well saved by the visiting keeper. John Gormally made a smashing save just before half time to keep Colemanstown 1-0 up at the break. Padraig Quirke’s half volley from Richie Lally’s corner was not far off target 5mins after the restart. 25mins into the half Alo Finn found Ray Moran in space whose attempted lob of the keeper was not too far away. That 2nd goal cushion seemed hard to come by and Merlin Woods always looked a threat going forward. Eventually their equaliser arrived 30mins into the half from a free kick whose long delivery found their winger on the edge of the box who crossed into the 6yard box and their striker’s low hard drill left Gormally with no chance. That goal gave the visitors great confidence although Gary Lally had a good chance immediately after the equaliser when he was played through by Ronnie Geraghty but he blazed well over the crossbar. A free kick 37mins into the half from Merlin Woods went straight across John Gormally into the far right, but in truth, there was little he could do. In the ensuing play Jayo Finn was the last one to get his head on a free kick but the keeper saved well. Colemanstown did everything in their power to pull this game out of the fire and rescue a point and as keeper John Gormally went forward for a corner late in the game, Merlin Woods defended it well and in a breakaway move two of their players combined down the middle and with acres of space in front of their striker and the keeper off his line, he tapped into an empty net to seal all 3 points and keep Merlin Woods in pole position as they celebrated their 3-1 win.
With 5 games left, there’s still plenty to play for in the league. Our next outing is next Sunday when our ‘A’ team have a chance of creating history when they play Swinford at home in the Connacht Shield semi-final. We urge every man, woman, child, player, supporter; even cats, dogs and teddys dressed in green to come out and support these boys in green. We want to fill the stand for a great Colemanstown roar. Next Sunday, Colemanstown: 2pm Kick off.